This invention relates generally to angular contact bearings with rolling elements and, more particularly, to a bearing assembly having a casing enclosing angular contact bearings.
Angular contact bearings have been used in pairs for mounting spindles, wheel hubs, and other devices to provide a controlled bearing clearance or preload, thereby reducing bearing freeplay. Generally, the races of the angular contact bearings are machined to close tolerances and are positioned in machined housings to provide the desired clearance or preload. Seals and other components may be added. Due to the expense of machining and the difficulty of precisely mounting one bearing with respect to the other, the use of angular contact bearings has been limited to a relatively few applications.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present devices and methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.
In one aspect of the invention, this is accomplished by providing a bearing assembly comprising a pair of opposed angular contact bearings, each bearing having rolling elements between inner and outer races made of metal. An annular casing partially encloses the outer race of the angular contact bearings. The casing is split along a radial plane into two casing halves, each casing half being molded of a polymer. The two casing halves are retained axially such that relative axial movement of the angular contact bearings is limited.
The foregoing and other aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.